Animation Evaluation

The brief of the assignment is to create an anti-gravity animation. The scene will be as normal until for the first time in the game the gravity will all of a sudden turn off causing objects to suspend in the air and float around creating wonder for the audience. All the objects will be related and suit the theme of the game. I took inspiration from the films Total Recall, Inception and The Simpsons anti-gravity scenes as I found them particularly effective due to the small details which I have tried to reinterpret in my own way within my 3D animation, I particularly like how the chips rotae in the air in the simpsons clip.

As seen in my animation I have created: a space helmet, a pair of space boots, a Lego figurine, a coffee cup and a torch. I chose these items as I thought it was likely for them to be found in a space ship and therefore all related in some way. I initially sketched these to have a hard copy of how I would like them to look I found this very helpful as it ensured I got all my ideas down before I moved on to the next asset. Despite being useful when it came to the modelling stage in Maya I was not able to create some of the assets such as the camera as the shape was simply to complex therefore, masking it very time consuming to make. Due to the fact I have a deadline I made the other assets first however, I didn't have time to go back and finish it in the level of detail that I wanted it therefore, I didn't feature it in my animation. Through the planning process I feel it would have been easier to make mock models instead of sketches as it would have helped me gain a rough idea of the shapes and tools I could use when it comes to making different assets which require different skills I have not learnt before meaning I would not have wasted time on assets such as the camera.

My original plans did not change much through the planning to modelling process, My torch and Lego figure staged exactly the same, I changed the space helmet and boots so they looked more like a set, I did  this by colour coordinating them with each other and the colours I used mean they also match the inside of the spaceship. I swapped the camera for a photo frame, after making it I decided that I would make the stand hinge onto the back to make it look more realistic when floating. I also made the coffee cup more realistic by adding a card texture and a realistic lid. These amendments helped me meet the brief as it looks more effective and this created wonder and excitement for the audience which is what I aimed to do as it enhances their experience.

My torch and Lego figurine were modelled exactly as planned and I am very happy with the outcome. I changed the design of my helmet after making a rough design in Maya, I made the transparent window at the front a bit smaller so it could sit in then helmet and it can flip up into the helmet, I feel this adds to the design and makes it look more aesthetically pleasing. My space boots were not originally meant to be included in my animation, I made them when I was practicing space gravity and I felt that they followed my theme and suited the style of the spaceship therefore I added them to my animation. The one design that changed the most was my photo frame, this asset replaced the camera that I decided not to include, at first is was simply a wooden frame however I gave the frame itself more shape by dragging out the corners making it look very modern and I also made a stand to hold the photo frame up however as the design process went on I decided to make the stand a hinge which will slowly flap up and down as the frame is flying off.

To create the modern edges I selected the vertex or opposite corners and dragged them out creating a curved edge that looks very sleek. To create the hinge on the photo frame I used Booleans and Difference, I first made my stand then created 2 polygon cubes and used Booleans to create the teeth of the hinge in my stand, while this tool was very effective there are different ways you can cut/merge them this meant I had to do alot of experimenting and trial and error while using the tool before getting the hang of it, also the object you select first makes a difference as which shape is going to create the intersectino in the other shape, this is all what I had to learn in trial and error. To create the torch I used a variety of tools but most importantly I used the face selection tool which allowed me to enlarge certain faces enabling me to create shapes such as the cone on top of the torch. I also used the merge tool allowing me to combine polygons, I used this tool to create the helmet, this tool was very useful however when I merge two objects the pivot point changes meaning if I dont reset the pivot point to the centre of the new shap it will enlarge or move from the point. Finally I used the UV Mapping tool when applying the texture I created to my space helmet, I ensured that the buttons and the flags were located in the correct place in the right proportion by editing the position and proportion in the UV Mapper, while UV Mapping I found that the NASA logo I originally intended to feature on the space helmet did not fit to the correct scale or proportion when fitting the texture, I did not want this to decrease the quality of the asset and as a result I did not feature it in my design.

The first asset I am particularly proud of is the coffee cup as this is the first model where I had planned to use Booleans in advanced as I had never planned to use this tool when creating a piece of work that would contribute towards my course work which lead to the final result of this asset being one that I see as a special achievement as it is a tool I learnt how to use myself in my own time which I was then able to reflect into my graded work, I also feel that the overall result of this model is very realistic and easily recognised as a coffee cup. The second asset I am very proud of is my Lego figure, I was proud of this as it was one of the most time consuming assets to make and I feel my finished model looks very much like a Lego figure you could pick up on a shop shelf. The final asset I am extremly proud of is my photo frame, this is because I came up with my own design for the hinge that would hold the stand on the back up which was successful, this allows the stand on the back of the photo frame to float up and down while the photo frame itself is floating making it more realistic, I also used my own photo from my skydive I did previously in the year.

When choosing my textures I mainly had to consider my target audience as at the end of the day they are the people who will be seeing them the most and the people I must make them appeal to. Bearing in mind my target audience is teenagers (13-19 year olds) I wanted to make it look classy to appeal to the upper end of the target audience yet bright so it appealed to the lower end, I chose a very bright shiny gold and a deep navy blue, these colours link very well when put together and I feel the final result is very classy yet appealing therefore meeting the specification of my target audience. I also had to ensure the textures I used would link into the theme of space which is why even on the space helmet and booths I features gold and blue stripes to tie them into the scene. I feel next time I could use a wider variety of textures to break up my scene a bit more.

First I planned what I was going to make by sketching my initial ideas on paper, I felt this was good as it allowed me to draw my interpretation of an object however I am not the best at drawing therefore this process possibly would have been more effective if I could have researched images of different forms or styles of that chosen asset. Secondly, I made a mood board of the colours I wanted to use and related items along my theme. I then started to create my selected assets in Maya finally, texturing them and animating them, I feel that the process after the sketches was very effective and easy to manage time. Following on from the planning process I created a master scene (spaceship interior) and in seprate files I created the assets in Maya ensuring I textured them along the way and werging the finished asset into 1 shape. I then placed all the sepreate assets into my masterscene and then animated the scene.

Key framing was an essential part of the creation of my animation, it allowed me to ensure the motion of the assets floating was consistant and fluent however, this took some practice so I experimented on random polygons/models I created to get more of a solid knowledge of how to use key frames to enhance the feel of my animation. I started by selecting the first frame, I then moved the asset to where I wanted it to start from, in this case it was the table in my space scene. I then moves the frames on to 50 for example, the asset is then moved to where I would like it to be at that frame, to make it move fast I would make it go a longer distance in less time (less frames) or to make it go slower I would make it travel the same distance but allow it more time (more frames) to do so. After it is moved to where I want it to be at that specific frame I set another key frame by clicking 'S' I continued to do this and a big benefit to key framing was I could see where the other assets were at the desired frame meaning I could make the asstet im woking on float up to the same hight in the same amount of frames giving the effect of the floating consistant. A major drawback for key framing was my asstet with a pivot point (the photoframe) In order for the stand to be in the same place when floating I had to merge it with the rest of the frame so it would mirror its movements and rotation in the air however once in place I had to un merge, change the pivot point and then move the stand outwards so make it look like its floating on its hinge however, once un merged then merged back together it became a new object therefore the old keyframes were no longer in place and therefore the photoframe would simply be in on position in the air from start to finish, obviously this is not the desired finish. As a result I had to key frame the photoframe and the stand seperatley but make the pivot point of the stand where the stand and photoframe join making the finished product a photoframe with a swinging stand as the rest of it floats up.  

I feel that my technical skills in Maya have majorly advanced considering at the begining of the corse  this was new software for me to learn. I feel I am particularly good at modelling and this is something I really enjoy doing, Over the past months I have learnt a variety of different tools and built up my modelling skills, I particularly enjoy designing and modeling products and other objects. I feel I the area witin Maya I could improve upon is animating as this is the area I have spent the least amount of experience with. In the future I wish to build up a wider knowledge of the tools avalible in Maya and be capable of more chalenging tasks.

I feel that throught this project I have kept to my scedule very well and that I have stayed on track, the main reason for this was because I stuck to my production scedule, I also feel I made a good decision by leaving the creation of the camera till last and finishing it if I had time rather than waiting untill I finished it then rushing my other assets, this ensured I could finish the scene to the high quality I wanted.

Overall I am very pleased with my final outcome and I feel it fits its purpose well doe to all the consideration and effort I put into it. I feel that the animation has exceeded my expectation as the only time I had animated in Maya was in my own time on personal projects meaning this is the first time that I am being asses on my animating skills, I am very proud of the result. Personally I felt that modelling the assets was my strongest skill in this unit although i am very please with how the objects float around the sectioned of room although , I feel that I could have used the space more effectively in my animation as the primary scene is located in the captains quarters which is separated from the rest of the spaceship via  a glass wall, in the background there are not floating objects which in real life could be plausible however very unlikely so if I could make any improvements I would add some floating assets in the background.